Sixth Biennial Faculty Art Exhibition

Friday, November 9, 2012 at 12:00pm

McDaniel College's Department of Art and Art History presents “The Sixth Biennial Faculty Art Exhibition,” October 23 through November 9 in The Rice Gallery in Peterson Hall. The opening reception will be held October 23 from 7:00-9:00 p.m., with a talk by the artists beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The exhibit will cover a wide range of media styles, including photography by Susan Bloom and Walter Calahan, paintings by Steven Pearson, hanging scrolls by Susan Scott, portraits and sculpture by Katya Dovgan Mychajlyshyn, ceramics by Ken Hankins, and jewelry and sculpture by Linda Van Hart.

Susan Bloom’s photos are digitally manipulated. “I often employ many layers of complexity. I've been really going to town, so-to-speak, with images I'm manipulating on my iPhone and iPad. I may print a few of those, as they hold up pretty well,” she notes.

“I will be exhibiting some new paintings that explore the way we receive, store and utilize information,” says Steven Pearson. “These paintings derive from one original source that has been traced and retraced, reorganized and reconfigured through a series of about seven paintings so far.”

Utilizing methods learned at a clay workshop he attended over the summer, Ken Hankins has begun experimenting with various glazing techniques with his functional high fire stoneware. “I am throwing with more movement in the sides of pots or, as potters say, ‘gesture,’” Hankins relates. “I am getting the shapes to have some variety in the surfaces which also affects the breaking of the glazes. I am trying some new glazes to change my color palette to some more matte colors and, on some of these pots, I am trying a new idea in decorating the handles.”

Showcasing several unique pieces of jewelry and sculpture, Linda Van Hart has been influenced by a variety of sources. “As a botanical portrait artist, Spanish Moss hanging from a Harry Lauder Walking Stick bush in Old Town Savannah inspired experimentation with reticulation in combination with random granulation and forging and a new series of body adornment was born,” she remarks. “Each work is one of a kind and includes a variety of Akoya and other pearls in natural tones.”

Another piece, “Heart Shields,” is a “cousin” of Van Hart’s “Heart Armor” series. “I filled two milk weed pod silver shapes as a friend told how the love of his life walked out of it and ‘Heart Armor’ was born. ‘Heart Shields,’ like any shield used in battle, is a talisman for those overcoming or avoiding tragedy.”

The Rice Gallery is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12 pm - 4 pm, Thursdays from 12pm - 8pm, and Saturdays from 12pm - 5pm. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. For more information and to confirm gallery hours, please call 410-857-2595.